http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/travelbuffs/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from travelbuffs en-us Sat, 14 Nov 2009 12:49:12 +0000 Sat, 14 Nov 2009 12:49:12 +0000 When 25th Oct 2009Where Tilden Park BerkeleyHighlights Little farm mini train of the redwood valley a carousel rideMileage 100 miRealizing that a trip exclusively for the little one was pending we made a stop at the notsofaraway Tilden Park. It is one of the largest oldest parks of the area.We all became kids for a day it was a total blast despite the heat of the dayThe little one http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Berkeley/blog-448720.html When 17th 18th October 2009Where Plumas County Northern SierrasHighlight Awesome AutumnMileage 660 miUnfortunately fall is not celebrated in CA as much as in New England. California has a canopy of Evergreen trees. However there seem to be pockets of places where fall actually happens. So we have to make do with whatever we can see. Eastern Sierra is a popular spota 7 hr drive from home. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Northern-Sierra/blog-446438.html When 26th SeptemberWhere Treasure Island San FranciscoWhat San Francisco International Dragon boat Festival For once everything fell into place we left home at leisure by 6.30am to reach Treasure Island by 8.00am.Here's a little something on Treasure Island.We had enough time to even stop for breakfast at Noah's. That's definitely somethingFinding a parking spot in Treasure Islandthough th http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/San-Francisco/blog-440645.html When Labor day weekend 5th Sep 7th SepWhere The lakes at Mammoth Devils postpile in the Eastern Sierras Ancient bristle cone forest in the White mountainsDreaming of visiting the place we'd always wanted to visit we set out early saturday morning. The place is a good 7 hr drive from where we call home.Our sofartrustworthy cell phone alarm failed we woke up 1 hr late to leave 1.5 http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Mammoth-Lakes/Devils-Postpile-National-Monument/blog-434934.html 5th JulyMission Stanley Park. This was our only nonrainy day We had planned to rent bikes to go around the Seawall. Again the Visitor center was not loaded with information. But we picked up a couple of maps.We wanted to go to Spokes but found this place Stanley park Bike rentalsGeorgia Denmanjust opposite to it offering competitive rates. They offer free parking but we had already parke http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/British-Columbia/Vancouver/blog-417043.html When 2nd July 8th July 2009Where Whistler VancouverI would gladly add this trip into the unplanned chaotic trip category. Initially a road tripfrom CA to Vancouver back turned into a flyroad trip at the last minute. And I am so glad it did.Early morning flights are crazy specially when you have to wake up at 2.30 am. Tagging a baby along home food was a must. So were the baggages. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/British-Columbia/Whistler/blog-416586.html When1314th June 2009What Two hikes from THE bookWhere Northern SierrasInitially I thought that once we complete all 'possible' hikes from the bible I will be done. But no The better half brought a couple of other books from the library. So I am in it for the rest of my life. And I am glad it is so.We had been contemplating the possibility of visiting this area for a while now. Reason the http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Oroville/blog-409526.html When Memorial Weekend 23rd 25th May 2009Where experience a tinge of the drive the waterfalls the hiker's paradise in Shasta countryThe Shasta area is abundant in everything Rivers waterfalls thousand miles of trails snow mountains scenic drives boating caverns...you can go on on. But the highlight is the one and only Mt.Shasta. Everytime I look at it it is like I have never seen http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Mount-Shasta/blog-402376.html We had heard a lot about these falls. So much that it would be a shame to have missed it this year. Ganesh had to tick it off his list I badly wanted him to do soelse he is behind my back until he gets it done. We hoped to wake up real early as it was a some distance from home. But personal work kept us from sleeping early the previous night. Result We woke up late. Apparently Ganesh had do http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/San-Francisco/blog-382124.html The imminent rains have actually postponed this trip week by week. The blossoms have been dodging visitors like us for quite sometime now.Though the website informed that the blossoms are in full bloom last week of February it rained last week. So Saturday probably was the first 'sunny' day. The part where it became 'really' sunny is a different issue altogether though.We had briefly passed via http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Fresno/blog-379956.html Where Uvas Canyon County ParkIntention surveying S's hiking tolerance to experience the short duration of later Winter's waterfallsOutcome Successful maiden attempt. S did not complain.yayUvas Canyon county park Trail mapOur trail The Waterfall loop covering Granuja falls upper falls basin falls black rock falls over to the Contour trail over to Alec Canyon trail to the final Triple fal http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/blog-377632.html When Dec 25th Dec 28th 2008Where Balboa Park Downtown Gaslamp quarter Coronado parts of San DiegoIt's been a while since we traveled. We wanted to get out of our home for this vacation. But for a long time we did not decide where. That makes it the least prepared trip for us. Usually we have this plan laid out like a month prior. I've read about so many people making unplanned trips that http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/San-Diego/blog-358289.html First outing with our little S. Traveling with a baby is not as easy as I'd thought. If I remember to take a million things its possible to forget a zillion However we had the need. The need for travel.In all these years somehow we'd successfully managed to miss going to Fort PointThe amateur photographer in me always wanted to get the angle of Golden Gate from there. A sunny weather in sou http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/San-Francisco/North-Beach/blog-288721.html Where Fort Mason Center San Francisco CA What Pacific Orchid ExpoA significant push from the better half made me wake up early Sunday morning to attend this show. The day was a warm 70F...warm enough in San Francisco. The day was clear the skies were blue. What a day to spend in San FranciscoWe planned to drive into town hoping to find one spot in the hundreds available in the Center. Ala http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/San-Francisco/blog-252369.html We had a really tiring Feb 18th. After that the need to unwind rushed into the blood with 3 days off from routine we dashed to a place which we might not have thought of otherwise3 days in a resort among the RedwoodsWhere Avenue of the Giants NorCal.When 20th Feb 23rd Feb 2008Redcrest Resort is not the usual uptight resort community we'd expected. It is more like a rustic cabin withou http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Humboldt-Redwoods-State-Park/blog-250014.html When 21st Dec 2007 1st Jan 2008Where CA NV AZAmerican southwest is always a personal favorite. So when our last minute plans to FL shut down we embraced ourselves to yet another trip to The Grand Canyon State. It was winter theme for the vacation was going to be Deserts. Well AZ is all desert you may say. But this trip was going to be desert all in all. We love the desertsAfter con http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/blog-232325.html Thanksgiving vacation found us in Western Nevada. Why There was nowhere else we could go. We'd pretty much covered every place we knew. But like anything unexpected it turned out to be a great trip.So here goes the details.22nd 24th November 2007Having ditched off all rental car plans we had to run our speed machine for a quick service. Thursday Nov 22nd 2007Plans to start at 600am got de http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Nevada/Reno/blog-222891.html Vacation Labor Day weekend When 31st Aug 3rd Sep 2007Where Coastal Redwood Forests Northern CaliforniaMileage lt 1000 mi RTI initially planned this trip as a surprise for Ganesh but I could not hold the secret for too long. Fri 31st Aug Rented a compact car from Alamo San Jose Airport. Successfully overlooked a Chevy AveoSeriously why are those cars even manufactured only to settle http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/blog-199053.html June 20th Richardson highway to Wrangell NP. Richardson Highway Our first stop was not too far from Fairbanks. 20 miles away is North Pole where it is Christmas everyday at Santa Claus Haus. We were so glad we could meet Santa actually talk to him. He was very friendly. We thought we had to wait in line for a handshake. This was so cool. This part of the highway was so hot dry that we fo http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Alaska/Valdez/blog-173947.html When Saturday 24th Mar 2007 Sunday 25th Mar 2007.What a relaxing weekend getaway to Hearst castle.Where California's central Southern coast.This trip was indeed a Peekaboo for Ganesh I planned this surprise trip for his birthdayas his birthday fell on a weekday we decided to celebrate it over the weekend. He did not know where we were going until later in the dayConsidering the occa http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/San-Luis-Obispo/blog-142182.html